Bowen Hardman hits game-winning shot in final seconds to power Akron Zips past Eastern Michigan Eagles 66-64

The Akron Zips defeated the Eastern Michigan Eagles 66-64 as Bowen Hardman hit a game-winning shot at the George Gervin GameAbove Center on Tuesday! Akron stormed back from a second half deficit to move to 19-4 and 10-1 in MAC play, and keep pace in the MAC regular season championship race.

Eastern Michigan held a 49-40 lead midway through the second half before Akron put together a 21-8 run to regain the lead, highlighted by six straight points from Tavari Johnson. The Eagles held a 64-63 with less than a minute to go before Hardman connected on a go-ahead 3-pointer with 8.1 seconds left.

Johnson led Akron with 17 points, six rebounds and three assists, and Hardman had 12 points in the win. Eastern Michigan was led by a game-high 19 points from Greg Lawson and Addison Patterson's 14 points, which was highlighted by a thunderous poster dunk, but it wasn't quite enough to pull off an upset.

"I just want to give Eastern Michigan a lot of credit. We have older guys that have been through a lot but we have to play a lot better than we did tonight," Akron head coach John Groce told the media after the last-second win. The Zips now sit one game behind the Miami Redhawks for first place in the MAC.

Akron stat leaders

Tavari Johnson: 17 points (team-high), 6 rebounds

Evan Mahaffey: 12 points, 3 rebounds

Sharron Young: 12 points, 2 rebounds

Bowen Hardman: 12 points, 1 steal

Eastern Michigan stat leaders

Greg Lawson: 19 points (game-high), 4 rebounds

Addison Patterson: 14 points, 6 rebounds

Mohammad Habhab: 11 points, 7 rebounds

Jon Sanders: 11 points, 4 assists, 4 rebounds

2026 MAC regular season standings

1. Miami Redhawks (23-0, 11-0)

2. Akron Zips (19-4, 10-1)

3. Kent State Golden Flashes (17-6, 8-3)

4. Toledo Rockets (12-11, 6-5)

5. Ohio Bobcats (13-11, 7-5)

6. Massachusetts Minutemen (15-9, 6-6)

7. Bowling Green Falcons (14-9, 5-6)

8. Buffalo Bulls (14-9, 4-7)

9. Ball State Cardinals (7-15, 3-7)

10. Eastern Michigan Eagles (9-14, 3-8)

11. Northern Illinois Huskies (7-14, 3-7)

12. Central Michigan Chippewas (7-16, 3-8)

13. Western Michigan Broncos (8-14, 2-8)

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